The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office is dedicated to providing accurate information to the public and media. If you are a member of the working media and would like an interview with the State Attorney, or you need information on a case, would like to talk to a specific assistant state attorney or are looking for an expert in a certain area of prosecution, please contact our public information officers Ed Griffith, Terry Chavez or Lissette Valdes-Valle.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

State Attorney Appointed to Statewide Council on Human Trafficking

Miami (July 11,
2014) State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has been appointed to Florida’s Statewide
Council On Human Trafficking by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The recently created Statewide Council
will have an important role in developing and coordinating Florida’s efforts to
fight sex trafficking and will help foster new approaches intended to help the
victims of sex trafficking heal and reintegrate back into the community.

“Florida’s human trafficking victims would be invisible, if
not for the commitment of a broad spectrum of advocacy groups and our law enforcement
community. Raising awareness of the problem is the first step toward
eliminating this modern sexual slavery. I am proud that our effort in Miami to
create an innovative trauma informed prosecution model for Human Trafficking
cases may become a model for the state and the country. I would like to thank
the Attorney General for appointing me to this important statewide role on the
Human Trafficking Council,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Unit
has been a prosecutorial leader in this area of the law. The Human Trafficking Unit has filed 236 criminal
cases and is involved in over 106 open investigations. The permanent full-time
dedicated staff that comprises this unit includes 2 prosecutors; a full-time
investigator and a team of officers from various departments in our community; two victim witness counselors; a paralegal and
support staff who all working together to save and care for victims.

The recently launched “Stop the Sale of Our
Children for Sex” awareness and hotline campaign uses billboards, bus shelters
and other materials to inform the community on how to spot human trafficking
and to report to our Human Trafficking Hotline: 305-350-5567.